Housepets
by IvanCurios
Summary: -Spoilers-  Barnaby and Kotetsu retire from the Hero business. Kotetsu has a family to return to, but Barnaby struggles with a crushing sense of loneliness.  Updates at least once/week.
1. Dinner

**Author's Note: **Housepets is an actual Tiger & Bunny fanfiction and not just a collection of ficlets like my other two stories. I am constantly looking for feedback, reviews, and constructive criticism for any of my writing but especially on this story. I'm also not big on author's notes, so don't expect to see them extremely often. I hope to update Housepets at least once/week, though I strive to update it more often than that.

**All characters belong to the creators of Tiger & Bunny. **

**Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers**

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang, and as Barnaby flicked the knob to turn off the stove and step out of the kitchen, his visitor impatiently rapped on the door. He made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat but couldn't stop his eyes from crinkling in amusement while reaching for the handle.<p>

"I'm here, Bunny! Bunny? Bunny! Bun-" Kotetsu was barely able to stop himself from striking his partner, who had flung open the door faster than he expected. He paused only to assess Barnaby's outfit, his hand still raised mid-knock.

"Bunny," he grinned, raising his hand over his head to casually lean in the doorway, "I like your apron."

Barnaby froze. He rarely cooked for himself, so when he started to learn, he'd bought the cheapest apron in the store. Nobody was meant to see it, so it shouldn't have mattered. Incidentally, the cheapest apron happened to feature all of the Heroes under bold text reading, "KISS THE COOKING HERO." No wonder it had been on sale. Barnaby ripped it off and roughly tossed it into the bin by his desk. It would be best if he pretended he had never made a beeline for the clearance shelf in the kitchenware store, picked up the most unfortunate item there, and later forgotten he was wearing it when he answered the door. As far as he was concerned, it never happened.

"Kotetsu," he said stiffly, "please come inside."

The older man stood up straight with a goofy smile still plastered to his face. He was used to Barnaby's social awkwardness by now, as well as his habitual inability to take a joke or suffer some friendly teasing, and he sniffed dramatically as he stepped into the home he had come to know so well. "Hey, Bunny," he murmured, "it smells so good in here. Almost like-AH!" He jumped and pointed a finger at Barnaby. "Fried rice? I thought you were joking!"

Barnaby gritted his teeth and fought back his embarrassment. "Why would I have been joking? I thought you were dying!" he protested with a wince; he accidentally conjured up memories of their last battle and had to turn his back to regain his composure. Barnaby pushed his glasses up his nose. "Please. Have a seat at the table." He disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Kotetsu to his own devices-which in retrospect was never a good idea. Serving platter in hand, he returned moments later to find a small structure made of plates, chopsticks, and napkins at the centre of the table and nobody in sight.

"Kotetsu?"

Silence.

Barnaby first set down the platter, then he lifted the tablecloth and peeked under the table to see if his friend was hiding for some reason; he saw no trace of him. "Kotetsu?" he called again, annoyed. A thump sounded from somewhere in another room.

He knew Kotetsu could be childish, but was their last day together as official partnered Heroes so unimportant to him that he would waste time playing foolish games? He briefly walked around his flat to no avail-he even lifted the napkin roof off the dinnerware building and looked inside with a deep frown, temporarily questioning his own sanity for thinking he might be found there in the first place.

"Barnaby Brooks Jr.!" thundered a voice from behind him, causing him to jump and nearly upset the entire table. Barnaby whipped around to find Kotetsu standing in the kitchen doorway. His mouth dropped open.

"What do you think you're d-?"

But Kotetsu cut him off with a pathetic look on his face. "Don't interrupt me, Bunny. It's rude," he whispered dramatically before coughing and striking what he surely thought was an impressive pose. "As I was saying... Barnaby Brooks Jr.! Tonight we dine not merely as friends or partners in business, but as true Heroes! Together, we have brought evil to its knees and secured the safety of the citizens. Tonight is th-"

"I know that, Kote-" Barnaby tried to interrupt him with minimal success.

"Ahem! Tonight is the ni-"

"Why are you-"

But Kotetsu was determined to say his piece. "Tonight. Is. The. Night." he paused, silently daring Barnaby to speak; the young man stared blankly in turn, "-we bid farewell to our lives as Heroes and begin anew as civilians. And so I would like to say to you for the last time as Wild Tiger, Hero of Sternbild City, and your partner..." he trailed off, scratching his cheek gently and looking slightly confused.

Barnaby sighed, "What is it you want to say?"

"Say, Bunny, that fried rice looks great!"

Barnaby had to refrain himself from kicking Kotetsu's armoured leg, but he couldn't help being frustrated. "Why are you wearing your battle suit in my home?" he shouted, lunging forward and shoving the metal suit with more force than necessary.

"Because!" Kotetsu flailed to regain his balance. "I couldn't say goodbye to you as Wild Tiger without the suit!"

"G-goodbye?" Barnaby's eyebrows knit together with concern.

Kotetsu nodded. He steadied himself and clapped a hand on Barnaby's shoulder, continuing in a softer voice, "Yes. Goodbye, and thank you. I... I'm sorry I didn't finish what I was saying. I thought about giving up being a Hero forever, and I suppose it made me nervous. I let myself be distracted. It's hard to consider a future without this. Without criminals, without cameras, without rival Heroes, without points-"

"Not that you had many of those anyway."

"Hey!"

Barnaby looked out the window but didn't move. He had so much to say about how life would be different, how he couldn't imagine a future without Hero TV either, how he didn't have anybody outside of the Hero life to turn to like Kotetsu had his family. All of these thoughts had been plaguing him since they decided to retire, but he couldn't find the words to voice them. Not now, not as Kotetsu was wearing his battlesuit for the last time in Barnaby's flat of all places and smiling down at him. He chased away the ruminating thoughts about the absurdity of his becoming a Hero to avenge the death of his parents that had been wrought by the very same "uncle" that had gotten him into the Hero business in the first place. He couldn't vocalise any of these things, so he said, "Let's have dinner," and stepped away from Kotetsu and took a seat.

"Alright," Kotetsu said gently. "Er... one moment!" He clunked out of the room and returned in his normal clothes in a matter of minutes, by which time Barnaby had disassembled his structure and set out the table with the precise amount of a-little-bit-too-much attention to detail that only Barnaby could have.

Once both were seated and served, they ate, Barnaby watching Kotetsu's face carefully out of the corner of his eyes for even the smallest indication of displeasure. But the latter crowed praises between bites to such an extent that Barnaby couldn't decide if he was patronising him or if he was simply that big a fan of fried rice. At the end of the meal, just as Barnaby had worked up the nerve to ask Kotetsu if he might be able to visit his family sometime-to properly thank Kaede for her help, if he needed to provide an excuse-Kotetsu's cell phone rang.

"Oh? It's Kaede," he said. "Probably making sure I'll actually be going home this time. I can call her back later." He moved to silence his phone, but Barnaby shook his head.

"I don't mind. After all, it was thanks to her the other Heroes got their memories back and later escaped. We're all in her debt." He transformed into Barnaby Brooks Jr.: Famous Celebrity, drawing from the fabricated personality he had created to win over crowds and charm skeptics. Kotetsu had a quizzical look on his face as he saw his partner's public persona make an appearance when there was nobody around to see, but he answered the call.

"Hello, Kaede! Is everything alright? ... Oh? You'll have to show me when I get home next week." Kotetsu winked at Barnaby. "Yes, of course I'm still coming home. I've already retired! You'll see the announcement on the morning news. But Daddy is visiting Barnaby an-"

Barnaby heard an excited shriek from the other end of the call, and Kotetsu held the phone away from his ear. "Hey, Kaede, don't make me deaf, already! I will call you tomorrow. Goodnight!" He hung up and squinted across the table. "Bunny, what's with you?"

"Kotetsu... I was wondering if..."

"Eh? What? Are you all right?" asked Kotetsu, noticing Barnaby's intense stare.

Barnaby's words caught in his throat. "I was wondering if you enjoyed the fried rice!" he blurted out. He cursed himself quietly; his courage had faded so quickly.

Kotetsu frowned, unable to determine the source of the young man's anxiety. "It was excellent, Bunny. Well worth not dying for." He stood and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Come on. Let's go have a drink. Oh, and Bunny-" he stooped by the desk to pull the apron out of the bin and toss it at his face, "-you should wear this. It becomes you."

Barnaby caught it with one hand and slammed it on the table. "I think not!"

But Kotetsu had already disappeared into the hall to wait for him.


	2. Drinks

"I never expected him to just disappear!" Kotetsu howled with laughter, pounding his fist on the table after revealing the ending of one of his less successful exploits as a Hero.

Barnaby allowed himself a few hearty chuckles, not so much at the story but at the mirth of the man telling it. He had never really put forth the effort to be particularly social with the other Heroes, and now that he was quitting and his partner was moving back to his hometown, he regretted that decision deeply. Barnaby ordered yet another drink from the enthusiastic waitress that had been so excited to learn she was waiting on the famous Hero.

Kotetsu leaned over to the opposite side of the booth and said in a quiet tone, "Take it easy, Bunny! They're not going to run out of alcohol. Even Antonio couldn't drink that much without getting sick."

"At least I'm not having a drink marketed towards children," Barnaby retorted, looking pointedly at the Legend Soda on the table.

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. "I've had enough to drink if we're going to get back in my car. One of us has to keep his wits about him, and I don't like to drink water. Besides, Mr. Legend is-"

"Mister Barnaby!" a fan squealed, running up with a Tiger & Barnaby notebook. "Could I have an autograph, please? I bought this notebook for my daughter to use in school, it would mean so much to her!"

Barnaby laughed a bit too loudly and agreed, writing his name inside the cover. "Thank you for your support, ma'am!" he said. "The Heroes wouldn't be where they were today without fans like your daughter." The woman swooned slightly, thanked him profusely, and skipped out of the bar just in time to miss Barnaby groan and rest his head back against the wall of the booth, eyes closed. He suddenly remembered why he didn't like to go out.

"Here, Bunny," said Kotetsu.

Barnaby opened his eyes and saw something being handed to him. "What's this?" he asked.

"My mask. Put it on, so people will stop recognising you and bothering you!" he explained. "This is one of the reasons Heroes keep their names and faces a secret. You can't get a moment to yourself when you want to." He leaned further over the table and affixed the mask to Barnaby's face, who only protested slightly.

"This will never work," he said, adjusting the mask so he could see. "How could you wear this thing under your suit, anyway?"

The waitress came back with his drink and set it on the table. Her face flushed and she said, "Erm... Mister Barnaby, why are you wearing a mask?" Both men froze, and she looked between them anxiously before sputtering, "Never mind. Please enjoy your drink!" and scurrying away.

"I told you so."

"Hey, Bunny, don't say that!" Kotetsu cried. "She must have identified you by your hair; we need to mess it up." He leaned ever closer and raised his hands to reach the veritable mane atop his friend's head.

Barnaby pulled away in horror. "Don't you touch my hair, Kotetsu!"

"It's the only way! You! Need! Privacy! Too!" Kotetsu accentuated each word with another attempt to grab ahold of Barnaby's perfectly-groomed hair.

"No!" Barnaby yelled, evading the attacks. "Kotetsu, stop! You're going to spill our drinks!" He barely had the time to finish what he was saying before Kotetsu brushed against his own Legend Soda, and Barnaby dove to catch it before it tipped over completely.

"Hah!" Kotetsu used the opportunity to land both his hands in Barnaby's curls and ruffle his hair relentlessly. He only stopped when satisfied that Barnaby's hair was such a mess that he was completely unidentifiable. Barnaby sat back up and glared, raising a hand to try to fix the damage that had been done. "Don't," Kotetsu commanded. "Leave it alone." Barnaby dropped his hand and focused his attention on his drink. Kotetsu, still happily buzzed and now pleased with his work, noted how nobody else approached them.

A few minutes of silence passed, and Kotetsu crossed his arms behind his head and hummed contentedly, no doubt reliving the most exciting captures and fights of his career. Barnaby ducked his head and stared at the drink in his hand, lost in muddled thoughts and anxiety about his future. He thought about going back to school and learning more about robotics to continue his parents' work. He thought about traveling. He thought about going into business with Apollon Media and working with the other Heroes that way.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Kotetsu," he finally sighed.

Kotetsu blinked. "Eh?"

Barnaby pushed his drink away from him and slammed his fists on the table. "I don't know what I'm going to do! You have your family. You have Kaede. The only family I had left was Aunt Samantha and Maverick, and they're both gone. I don't have friends, not really."

"But you have the most fans of anyone." Kotetsu tried to console him.

"Fans aren't friends. I always could impress people, but I never made friends. Children don't want to be friends with a young NEXT whose only purpose for living is to avenge his parents' deaths! I don't have friends!" Tears fell against Barnaby's glasses.

"Bunny..." Kotetsu breathed. His mind worked sluggishly trying to find something to say that would help. He always knew that Barnaby, despite his fame and general status of a popular idol, had trouble understanding other people. His public persona was all an act derived from years of carefully studying how to win over crowds and deflect negativity, but when it came to forging friendships, Barnaby was at a loss. _If only he could go somewhere else for awhile,_ Kotetsu thought, _he would be able to decide what he wanted to do without the pressure of being in the city and seeing everything that reminds him of his past. _"Ah! Bunny!" he said. "Why don't you visit me in Oriental Town? We have an extra room, and I know Kaede would love to see you again-not to mention I would get extra points for being a good father by bringing Barnaby Brooks Jr. to town!"

"No," Barnaby said after a moment. "No, I couldn't disrupt your family that way. You have been away for so long. I'm sure your daughter wants to spend time with you, and you with her." He ground his teeth and scolded himself. This was what he had wanted. It's what he was planning on asking Kotetsu at dinner, and now he was refusing it for no discernable reason. He couldn't take his words back now. He'd ruined his chance.

Kotetsu sighed impatiently, wondering if it was his pride that was stopping Barnaby from accepting his offer. He would have to come up with an excuse. He put an elbow on the table and leaned his chin on his hand. "Hey, Bunny, now that I think of it, I'm leaving Friday. If you're free, I could really use your help moving my things into my house in Oriental Town. My brother will be working, and my mother can't carry all those boxes. And Kaede! Oh, she would be so glad to see you!" he paused, thinking about what his daughter's reaction would be. "If you have other plans, I understand, but..."

Barnaby's head snapped up in surprise. "Kotetsu! Of course I will help! I would be more than happy to help you move!" He was met with a steady smile that doubled in front of him. He gripped the edge of the table to stop himself from falling.

"Great!" Kotetsu stood up and dug his phone out of his pocket. "You can spend a few days with us! Get some rest, escape from the city, see the sights, you know. I'll call my brother now to let him know-he's still at his store, I know he'll pass the message on to my mother. You stay here." Kotetsu took a few steps away before turning around. "Don't you dare fix your hair while I am gone!" he threatened, then walked to a quieter room to make his call.

It wasn't until Kotetsu had whisked out of sight that Barnaby realised what had happened. He didn't remember asking to spend several days at the Kaburagi house, but he couldn't see where Kotetsu had gone and wasn't confident he'd be able to walk even if he had. Finding himself thoroughly unable to protest-even though he didn't want to protest in the first place-he slammed back the rest of his drink and stopped a waiter to order another before slumping over in the booth.

"It's all settled, Bunny! ...Bunny?" Kotetsu returned to find the young man fast asleep. "Hey, Bunny, wake up. I told you to stop drinking. Bunny!" He shook his shoulder in a futile effort to wake him up. "You couldn't even wait until I was sober so I could drive us home, huh? I'll have to carry you home. Damn!" he grumbled, somehow forgetting that taxis were more than plentiful in Sternbild City.

He made his way up to the owner behind the bar, calculating in his head if he could carry Barnaby home using his Hundred Power in under four minutes. Deciding that it was probably possible, he asked the owner if he could leave his car at the bar like he had done so many times before. Since being sober was no longer a requirement, he bought a shot of shochu, downed it, and paid the tab. Kotetsu walked back to the table only to see one more drink that he couldn't identify. "Mustn't let this go to waste," he muttered to nobody in particular before drinking it and gathering Barnaby into his arms, cradling him against his chest.

Walking out into the street, he carried Barnaby into an alley where nobody would be around to see him activate his Hundred Power and leap to the rooftop. He bounded from building to building, taking the shortest path possible to get to the skyscraper where Barnaby lived. His Hundred Power faded just as he dashed inside and reached the lift on the ground floor. "Wow!" he mused. "What luck, right, Bunny?" He leaned forward awkwardly and pressed the lift call button, which buzzed angrily at him.

"What!" he yelled. "Out of order? No! No, don't tell me I have to carry him up the stairs without my Hundred Power! Bunny? Bunny! Wake up!" Kotetsu shook the sleeping man in his arms. "I won't carry you. I'll leave you on the floor for everybody to see your messy hair! Bunny, wake up, already."

The only response was a muffled and entirely unconscious groan.

"Fine," Kotetsu grumbled. "But I won't listen to another word about how you're always the one who has to carry me when I'm in trouble." And he set up the stairs, complaining loudly the entire way. He was sweating and more than a little out of breath once he arrived at Barnaby's door, feeling the alcohol's effects setting in. He stared at the door for a few seconds until he remembered he would need a key.

"Hey, Bunny," he whispered gently, "I need your key to get into your flat." He leaned his back against the wall for support and sighed heavily, then knelt down and set Barnaby on the ground to fish through his pockets to find his key. "Don't tell anyone about this," he insisted. "It's not my fault you won't wake up. Ah, here it is!" He opened the door and scooped up his friend once more, making his way to the bedroom and setting him on his bed. The motion reminded him of carrying Kaede to bed when she was little and would fall asleep on the journey home from somewhere bright and exciting.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," he promised Barnaby just like he would promise Kaede. He closed the door and took off his shoes and jacket and unbuttoned his shirt to try to cool down. He stumbled a bit on the way back. "I must have had more to drink than I thought," he breathed, sitting at the end of the bed and gingerly untying Barnaby's shoes and setting them on the floor. Next, he moved on to his jacket, managing to get one arm out. Leaning over him and trying to pull the other sleeve off with one hand while pulling the rest of the jacket out from underneath him with the other, he grunted, "Bunny, would you please just take your arm out of this sleeve?"

Barnaby's eyes opened halfway, having heard the request but being largely unable to make sense of it. He saw Kotetsu over him, glistening, panting, shirt unbuttoned, and he felt the bed underneath him and acknowledged now that his jacket was being taken off. His vision flickered and danced, he let out a low chuckle without understanding why he was laughing, and he fought to twist his torso enough to free his arm from the jacket sleeve.

Kotetsu felt Barnaby moving to help him get the jacket off and was about to let out an exasperated, "Thank you!" but was interrupted by both jacket-free arms being flung around his neck, pulling him closer into a kiss. "Bunny?" he mumbled, but the sound was silenced by the same pair of smiling lips. Kotetsu's head swam in a stupefying mix of alcohol and surprise as another quiet laugh emanated from Barnaby. He pulled away, unbalanced, before he even realised what had happened, and with those long arms still holding him nearly on top of the younger man, he told Barnaby, "Go to sleep."

Barnaby rolled onto his side just enough so that Kotetsu could lie down on the bed but not so much that he released him from his hold. Kotetsu wiggled slightly in a half-hearted attempt to slide out of Barnaby's arms, but the call of physical exhaustion and liquor-induced drowsiness was too great. Even if he did manage to pull away from Barnaby, he wouldn't be able to get to his flat, and sleeping on the floor seemed much less comfortable, he reasoned. Thus he was forced to remain where he was, how he was, not holding Barnaby, but not trying to escape, either. He succumbed to unconsciousness in a matter of seconds, and they slept, outside of the covers, moving closer to savour each other's warmth throughout the depths of their dreams.


	3. Morning Report

Barnaby wasn't awake when he tore himself away from Kotetsu, nor was he awake when Kotetsu unconsciously made an unhappy noise at the sudden loss of warmth. He wasn't awake, so he didn't register the half-run, half-crawl that hurtled him to the toilet, and it wasn't until the strange alarm that was the action of vomiting relentlessly that he realised that he was indeed awake and probably alive because being dead could never result in this much physical torment. Tendrils of his hair were plastered to his face and the rim of the toilet seat felt cool against his burning cheek. He didn't bother trying to remember anything at all, rather he focused on simply existing and allowing his senses to slowly creep back in their full terror.

Light came first; the rays of the morning sun glinted off the mirror and assaulted his eyes. He lifted a leaden arm and batted listlessly at a cord next to the bathroom window until the blinds clacked down like shots from a machine gun. Ah, sound, a horrible sensation to have as an enemy. His more minute touch receptors began to make him aware of the crust on the edges of his squinting eyes, but he stopped short in surprise when he reached his hand up. Barnaby pulled himself to his feet and leaned heavily on the sink. His gasp hurt his ears and sent another wave of nausea coursing through his body.

"What is this?" he panted almost silently, touching the mask on his face, then patting the top of his thoroughly mussed hair. A mental snapshot clicked into place: last night, kissing, undressing, Kotetsu, a bed-his own bed? A second memory surfaced, this time the feeling of pulling his arms from around something soft, leaving his bed, and the muted groan that stayed behind as he rushed to be sick. Barnaby put his fingers on the edges of the mask once more, his heart pounding so loudly and splitting his head into a thousand little shards. He thought he might vomit again and sat down hard on the tiled floor, slipping further until he was curled up there on the ground, a heap of confusion and anxiety and nausea.

Kotetsu awoke nearly half an hour later, slightly cold and trying to find the source of the beeping. It was Barnaby's alarm clock, which had been knocked under the bed during the night. He slid off the covers ungracefully and stuffed his arm under the springboards to retrieve the errant clock and turn it off. It wasn't until he'd set it back on its nightstand and sat down on the red comforter that he realised that he was partially dressed in Barnaby's bed with no apparent sign of its owner. Kotetsu had escaped with only a slight headache, but his memory of the night faded into black about halfway through his trip through the city towards Barnaby's flat.

He knew Barnaby must be ill, considering the amount he drank, so he went on a search that ended quickly because he found his target in the most predictable place after a night of heavy drinking.

"Bunny?" he whispered, placing a careful hand on the young man's shoulder. "Wake up. You're going to miss the announcement on the news." Receiving no response, he gently brushed away some of the golden hair from his forehead, then pulled the mask off with great care. Being hungover was hell, and Kotetsu knew this better than anyone. He turned to alcohol in the months after Tomoe's death, sending himself reeling every night. Now Barnaby was drinking to cope with the loss of his childhood, his parents, his life goal, his job. Kotetsu understood him all too well. He wasn't going to make anything worse than it had to be.

"You won't want to miss this," he prodded.

"Shh."

Kotetsu knelt to put one hand under Barnaby's shoulder and the other under his head and began to prop him up, moving delicately as though Barnaby might break. "Come on, Bunny," he insisted, "you need to style your hair, anyway. It's a real mess."

Barnaby dipped back into consciousness long enough to jerk his body out of Kotetsu's grip, landing hard on the heel of his hand. The pain worked like electricity, stimulating every nerve ending in his body, making him heave, though he wasn't sure if embarrassment didn't also have something to do with his discomfort. Strong hands gripped him and pulled him to his feet, which refused to do their job, and he crashed into a human wall that held him up perfectly.

"I'm not a child!" He somehow managed to force the words out of his mouth, which was being as uncooperative as the rest of him. "Take your mask back!" he demanded, feeling young and foolish and not remembering how it got on his face to start.

"I did." Kotetsu's voice was calm and low, his steady hands still supporting Barnaby as he trembled. "Come on." Kotetsu tried to lead him away from the bathroom.

Barnaby wrenched himself from Kotetsu's hold and immediately regretted the decision. He spoke with barely a whisper but his words registered in his head like a shout, "I am _not _a child! I can walk on my own! I don't need your help!" and his hand found its way to the wall for support; soon his entire body had collapsed against it and he realised how sick he had been when he woke up, how weak it had left him.

Kotetsu watched him for a moment, wondering if this was how Antonio felt all those mornings when he let himself into Kotetsu's flat to wake him up, get him ready, tell him he was late for work again, beg him not to go out drinking again that night, suffer all the verbal abuse his best friend had flung at him over time. He sighed and headed into the kitchen, returning with a large glass of water and some painkillers. "Please drink this," he murmured, crouching to be at eye level with the man who had sunk to the floor because his legs gave out.

Barnaby averted his gaze. "Thank you," he said, and he wondered if Kotetsu could feel the shame radiating off of him like heat off the pavement in summer. He sipped at the water-how long had it been since he felt sick and someone brought him a glass of water? Then he watched Kotetsu's feet walk away and listened to the sound of the television being turned on and tuned to the morning news report. He scooted himself in a most undignified manner until he was seated in the doorway between rooms, facing the television, leaning on the frame for support, holding his cup with both hands. He didn't watch the woman announcing the news so much as he watched Kotetsu taking it all in, shirt still unbuttoned, hands in pockets, back arched slightly as he looked down his nose at the screen like he was judging the anchor's performance. He noted the tension in Kotetsu's shoulders, the wiggle of his toes, and the flaring of his nostrils and knew these were all manifestations of pure apprehension.

The woman said in a clear voice, "On the topic of Heroes, we have received surprising news about the most famous Hero partners. As of today, the popular NEXT crime-fighting duo featuring the King of Heroes, Barnaby Brooks Jr., and his partner, Wild Tiger, are officially in retirement. Their sponsors have declined to comment at this time. We share with you now the first look at their farewell video..."

Kotetsu wore a deep frown and looked back at Barnaby, who had set the water down at his feet and put his head between his knees. "Hey, Bunny," he said, muting the channel and walking over to him, "are you okay? This isn't the end, you know." He tried his hardest to sound reassuring, but he wasn't even able to convince himself.

"Of course it is," replied Barnaby, his words muffled through what Kotetsu suspected might be sobs. "You go home to your daughter. The other Heroes go on to fill our places. I stay here. Where I've always been. Where I'll always be. Alone. Nobody to save. Nothing to do. This is the end." He dug his fingers into his legs as he spoke. He waited for some sort of response, a stupid joke or a half-baked attempt to make him feel better, but all he heard was a quiet sigh and the rustling of fingers against fabric. Barnaby looked up. "What are you doing?"

"Mm? Oh, I'm leaving," Kotetsu said nonchalantly, picking up his jacket and threading his arms into the sleeves. Barnaby stared, speechless with a look of betrayal stamped on his face. "If you're so convinced you haven't made a difference and that you can't be successful in the world without being a Hero, then you should have never become one to begin with," Kotetsu snapped. "And you should never have agreed to be my partner. That would have saved me a lot of trouble, you know, Bunny. I thought we were friends." He put on his shoes hastily and rested his fingers on the door handle.

"Kotetsu..."

"I suppose now that we're no longer partners, you don't need to keep up the act anymore. You think you couldn't have made an impact on me because you never thought we could have been friends in the first place." He opened the door and inclined his head politely. "Barnaby." He turned to walk out the door.

Barnaby jolted to his feet, upsetting the water and not giving a damn. "Kotetsu, wait!" he cried. "That's not true! That's not what I meant!"

Kotetsu paused, his back still turned. "I'm listening."

Barnaby closed the distance between them, hovering a hand over Kotetsu's shoulder without daring touch him. "You are my friend. Of course you are. And maybe you're right, I never should have become a Hero. But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you, and even though I don't know what my future holds now that I am no longer a Hero, I hope that you will always be a part of it. Because you are much more than my work partner; you are my friend, Kotetsu." His voice shook with trepidation. Kotetsu was the only family he had left. He simply couldn't function without him. Kotetsu's head was shaking, and Barnaby felt his stomach twist into knots.

"Oh," Kotetsu breathed, then he paused for a long moment before continuing, "I never thought that would work so well!" He spun around and grabbed Barnaby in his arms, squeezing him unceremoniously into a tight embrace. Barnaby melted into him, tears in his eyes, still thoroughly confused, and he felt deep rumbles of laughter channeling through Kotetsu's chest as he rejoiced. "I gave you a taste of your own medicine, didn't I? Jumping to conclusions, forcing you to admit the truth! Oh, Bunny! And can you imagine how angry Kaede would have been if I hadn't brought you home with me? I haven't been this happy since you remembered who I was after Maverick altered your memories!"

"Th-that was only a few days ago!" Barnaby laughed, delirious with relief, feeling as though he would normally be angry with Kotetsu for deliberately misleading him like he did but not caring about this revelation one bit. "Let go of me," he said without resolve, and he did not struggle. When Kotetsu finally did release him, he said, "At last!" but couldn't bring himself to mean it. Kotetsu grinned wildly at him.

"I'm going to go take a shower. You should really do something about your hair."

"Kotetsu!"

But he had disappeared out the door, calling down the hall about needing help packing his books as he got into the lift. Barnaby shut the door, titillated, embarrassed, and made his way to his own shower to try to undo the damage to his hairstyle, fully expecting to stand under the hot water for eons with a hand pressed to his lips,grasping for definition between memories and dreams of last night.

* * *

><p><em>Kotetsu hit the call button for the lift, jumping as it buzzed obnoxiously. "Broken?" he growled. "Damn it!" He opened the door the the stairwell and set off, grumbling the entire way down.<em>


	4. Home

When Barnaby showed up at his flat later in the morning on Friday with a small overnight bag, Kotetsu laughed. "Is that all you're bringing? You're going on holiday!"

Barnaby crossed his arms impatiently. "You said I was staying 'for a couple days.' This is enough for two days. Now let's load up your car."

Kotetsu grinned, holding back another bout of laughter. "Sure, alright. I need to tape closed a few more boxes, but these over here are ready to go." He watched Barnaby dutifully pick up a box of clothes with a soft grunt, thinking the younger man's short temper must be due to nerves. He wasn't certain quite how long he would be able to convince him to stick around Oriental Town, but he knew his mother and Kaede would persuade him to stay at least for Christmas. Barnaby could wear some of Kotetsu's clothes after his two-day supply ran out. He grabbed the roll of tape and set to work on the final boxes.

Barnaby reappeared at the door shortly. "I have a better idea. Have you closed all the boxes?"

"I've nearly finished."

"Let me use my Hundred Power. I can get your car loaded with minimal effort while you finish in here," Barnaby suggested.

Kotetsu shot him a broad smile. "Good idea! I don't know why I didn't think of it. Ah, oh well. You always were the brains of the team." Barnaby chuckled under his breath, and shortly he was surrounded by a blue halo and zipping in and out of the flat, carrying box after box. He cleared out the room quickly, returning just as Kotetsu was about to tape up the final box.

He walked into the empty room, noticing that it looked much smaller. Apparently Kotetsu had put serious thought into the decoration of his living space, which Barnaby thought had appeared roomier even when furnished. "Kotetsu, why do you have so many heavy boxes? It's a good thing I could use my Hundred Power to lift them all."

"Oh? Those are just my magazines," Kotetsu said idly, looking around for the tape roller.

"Your magazines?"

Kotetsu walked into the kitchen, opening cabinets. "You know-magazines, books, comic books, videos. Everything detail my career. A lot about Mr. Legend. This last box has all my picture albums." He came back into the room and put his hands on his hips, looking deeply troubled.

Barnaby reached around him and pulled the tape dispenser out of Kotetsu's back pocket, holding it out "Picture albums? Could I see them?"

Kotetsu looked down at the box. "Maybe another time," he said in a softer voice, taking the tape dispenser and closing the box carefully.

Barnaby panicked. The box must have contained photos of Kotetsu's daughter and his wife. He wondered if his request had made Kotetsu think of returning to Oriental Town... to the absence of his wife. "Well, erm," he said awkwardly, "are you ready to go? I'll let you carry that, here, I need to get my suitcase." Barnaby realised he was babbling and shut his mouth. Kotetsu was watching him strangely.

"Sure. I'll drive. Let's go."

They got in the car and Kotetsu heaved a great sigh before putting the key in ignition. He looked at Barnaby out of the corner of his eye and promised, "You're going to love Oriental Town."

Kotetsu hummed along with the radio for quite some time before he noticed that Barnaby had fallen asleep. He wondered if the young man had gone drinking alone the previous night but didn't want to ask. He smiled at himself in the rearview mirror, thinking about how Barnaby had wanted to see his photo albums, mentally selecting which photos to show him- definitely the trip to the zoo when Kaede was two and a goat tried to eat her hair, then later she and Tomoe put on matching penguin hats and made silly faces. Kotetsu's heart swelled with those memories. He wanted so badly to go home and catch up with his daughter and make new memories with her.

He pulled over at a station to refuel, shivering in the falling snow. The heater in his car was spotty at best, and when he climbed back in the driver's seat, he snagged a blanket from behind him and used it to cover Barnaby. "You must be exhausted," he said to the sleeping form. The reality of all that had transpired over the past week finally seemed to be taking its toll on Barnaby. Kotetsu figured it was his paternal instinct that led him to slide Barnaby's glasses off his face and set them in the pocket in the door for safekeeping. Barnaby cracked a single eye open, and Kotetsu felt like he was somehow repeating himself when he crooned, "Go to sleep, Bunny."

Barnaby didn't wake up until the car stopped and the engine's constant hum ceased. He felt the car door slam and groped around for his glasses, wrestling with a blanket that had appeared out of nowhere. Kotetsu came around to his side of the car and opened the door, reaching into the pocket and producing the errant spectacles. He heard the front door to the house open and small footsteps running to the car.

"Daddy!" Kaede cried, wrapping her arms around him. When she looked up, she noticed who was in the passenger seat. "Mister Barnaby?"

"Hello, Kaede," he said as he stepped out of the car, watching her grandmother walk out to greet them.

"Mister Barnaby, are you here for Christmas?" shrieked the girl.

Barnaby laughed nervously. "Oh, I can't stay that long. Christmas is for family, and-"

"But you're Dad's partner," Kaede protested. "That's like family! And... a-and you saved my life! Oh, Mister Barnaby, please stay!"

Her grandmother chimed in, "Yes, you simply must stay, Barnaby. Stay at least for the holidays; it would mean so much to our family. Please, we insist."

Barnaby glanced over at Kotetsu, who was busy taking some of the boxes out of the back of the car and-unbeknownst to his visitor-sniggering quietly as he heard his family cajoling Barnaby into staying. "Well, I suppose I might..."

Kaede clapped her hands and bowed. "Oh thank you, Mister Barnaby! Grandma, this will be the best Christmas!" The old woman laughed and led her back inside out of the cold.

"I'll let you strong men bring in the boxes," she told them with a wink.

They worked quickly to bring everything inside, stacking the boxes on one side of Kotetsu's room. Once they were done, Anju took her son aside, leaving Barnaby at Kaede's mercy. The girl brought him into her room, hinting unsubtly that she wanted him to sign all her posters. He took a marker and began to chat with her about school and how she felt about developing NEXT powers.

Anju and Kotetsu walked out into the garden. He shivered, "Mum, can't we talk inside? It's freezing out here!"

"It's not so bad. You need to toughen up," she dismissed his concerns. "Now, your brother told me you were bringing a guest, but he didn't specify that it was your... your boyfriend. I have the guest room all set up, and now I will have to move everything into your room for him."

"What? Mother, no!" cried Kotetsu, a puff of steam rising from his mouth. "He's not my... he's just alone! I thought he was sad. Everyone in his family is dead, and he found out that-haven't you seen the news? I couldn't leave him alone for Christmas."

Anju looked over her covered garden. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologised. "You know I just worry about you being alone. Forget what I said. I'm happy to have Barnaby here for the holidays."

Kotetsu let out a strangled laugh. "Let's go inside." They made their way to Kaede's room, and Kotetsu paused to listen to Barnaby asking his daughter about her ice skating. His heart stopped as he relived the moment he thought he'd lost her. Swallowing hard, he entered the room. "There you are, Bunny! Has she been talking your ear off?" he joked.

"Not at all," Barnaby replied. "She was just telling me about how she advanced to the next level of skating."

"You should come to see me perform sometime!" she chirped. "Er... that is... if you'd like, Mister Barnaby." She blushed.

He stood from her bed. "I'd love to, Kaede. Let me know when." Kotetsu saw his daughter's eyes sparkle.

"Come, Mister Barnaby. Let me show you to the guest room," Anju said. "Kotetsu, get his bag." She walked them down the hall and into the spare room that she had made up for their first visitor in what seemed like ages. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You don't have much packed."

"Well, I wasn't really planning to-"

Kotetsu interrupted him, "That's alright, Mum. He can wear some of my clothes if he runs out."

Barnaby didn't have a chance to protest before Anju nodded. "Oh, yes. That's a good idea. You look to be about the same size. Well, I'll leave you two, now. I need to make dinner." She made her way out the door. Barnaby glared at Kotetsu suspiciously and opened his mouth to speak, but Anju poked her head around the corner one last time. "Oh, and Kotetsu, your brother called. He's coming in three days to stay for Christmas. Can he stay in your room, since Barnaby's using the guest room?"

Kotetsu's nostrils flared. "As long as he stays on his side of the room!" Anju sighed and walked away muttering.

Barnaby burst into laughter. "Serves you right. You were planning this all along!"

Kotetsu smacked him. "Don't say that! You don't know my brother. He's insufferable!"

After dinner, Barnaby thanked Anju for the meal and made his way to his room. Kaede tagged along behind him, jabbering about his greatest criminal captures as a Hero, and they sat on the floor and talked at length about attending the Hero Academy. As it was getting late, Kotetsu walked in.

"Okay, Kaede, it's bedtime," he instructed.

"Awwww," she whined. "But Mister Barnaby was telling me about the Hero Academy!"

Her father put out a hand to help her stand. "Yes, yes, Bunny is a fabulous conversationalist, but he needs his rest. So does Daddy, or did you not see how many boxes we had to move?"

Kaede stood with a yawn. "Okay. Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Mister Barnaby. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you for telling me about being a Hero!" She disappeared into her own room, and Kotetsu watched her go fondly. Barnaby examined Kotetsu's expression closely, remembering how his parents used to look at him like that.

"Now, this isn't so bad, is it?" asked Kotetsu, leaning against the doorframe.

Barnaby snapped out of his memories. "It's wonderful. Thank you for inviting me, Kotetsu," he said plainly.

"You know, Bunny, you're welcome here anytime. Even after the holidays." Kotetsu took a few steps forward and put his hand on Barnaby's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Anytime. I mean it."

It was no surprise to Barnaby that he couldn't sleep that night. After he was certain that everyone else was dreaming, he crept into the living room to watch the television with no sound. A rerun of his and Kotetsu's farewell reel was running. On the coffee table was a photo album he didn't remember seeing before-Kotetsu must have unpacked it while he was talking with Kaede. He gingerly picked up the pictures, flipping through them one by one, noting the light in Tomoe Kaburagi's eyes. Kotetsu wasn't in many of the photographs. He must have been in charge of the camera, documenting his family's every adventure. There was Kaede as a newborn, and as he looked at the tears glimmering in Tomoe's eyes, he felt his own eyes prick mercilessly. He wept silently as he flipped through the highlights of Kaede's childhood and Kotetsu and Tomoe's marriage, cursing himself for having so often forgotten everything that Kotetsu had sacrificed.

Barnaby awoke in the guest bedroom and felt around blearily for his glasses. He remembered falling asleep on the couch but wasn't sure how he managed to get back to the bed. Hastily dressing himself, he came out into the living room. Kotetsu was in the middle of the couch with his arm around Kaede. They were watching videos of all the episodes of Hero TV where Wild Tiger was featured. Kaede jumped every few minutes, tapping her father and pointing at the television, shouting, "Look! Daddy, there you are!"

After a few minutes, Kotetsu noticed Barnaby watching them. He winked and said, "Good afternoon, sleepyhead!" Barnaby froze, realising that Kotetsu must have carried him to bed like a child. He turned and went into the kitchen quickly, where Anju was laying out some food for him.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said, sitting down. She took a seat beside him with a cup of tea and let him eat in silence for a few minutes.

"So tell me, Barnaby," she said, "do you have any plans?"

He thought carefully. "Well, no."

"Oh, don't worry, dear! Having a plan doesn't mean a thing," she reassured him. "You should have heard all the plans Kotetsu had when he was your age. Not a single one of them panned out."

"Except being a hero," Barnaby reminded her.

"Well, that wasn't his original plan. And besides, he still is one, and so are you, even if it's not what you're paid to do." The old woman nodded in the direction of the living room, where Kotetsu and Kaede could be heard laughing loudly. "Look at him. No plans. Happy."

"He has Kaede," smiled Barnaby.

Anju stood up and took his plate. "And he has you," she said before turning to clean the dishes.

Barnaby couldn't help but feel lighter when he walked back into the living room. Kotetsu saw him and beckoned him over. "Bunny! Come here! We're about to watch our first encounter."

"You mean when I saved you?" Barnaby teased.

Kotetsu waved a hand at him. "Ah, say what you want. Kaede still thinks I 'm cool, right?"

Kaede smirked mischievously. "Of course I do, Daddy! But Barnaby is much cooler."

"Hey!" her father cried. Barnaby couldn't hide his grin as he sat on Kotetsu's other side. The older man smacked him playfully.

"Look, Mister Barnaby!" shouted Kaede. "There you are!"


	5. Christmas

After a few days of relaxing and getting to know Kotetsu's family, Barnaby's overnight bag ran out of suitably clean clothes for him to wear. True to his word, Kotetsu brought a stack of his own clothing into the guest room one morning. Barnaby eyed them with disdain and grudgingly changed into an outfit identical to Kotetsu's, emerging from the room only after much coaxing.

"I want to go home," he complained. "At least let me go get my own clothes from Sternbild City."

Kotetsu stood back and crossed his arms, looking Barnaby up and down to assess the situation. "You can go home after Christmas. There's nothing wrong with you wearing my clothes. Besides, they look good on you."

Barnaby scowled, "I am dressed like an old man."

"Bunny, please." Kotetsu caught himself chuckling, and he wasn't sure why. "Really, you look great. Now, I promised I'd bring you into town so you can do some shopping. Are you ready to go?" Barnaby frowned.

"You should have warned me you were going to make me stay for Christmas," he had lamented earlier in the week. "I only purchased a present for you."

But Kotetsu had simply flashed his trademark grin and said, "You could always leave. I couldn't stop you if you used your powers."

And that was how Barnaby ended up wearing Kotetsu's clothing, riding in Kotetsu's car, going into Kotetsu's hometown to buy gifts for the rest of Kotetsu's family.

By the time it was Christmas Eve, Barnaby had very nearly stopped complaining about his "old man" outfits, though it possibly had something to do with Kotetsu's extreme efforts to keep everyone busy and happy so that he didn't have the opportunity to remember he wasn't wearing his own clothes. Truthfully, Kotetsu planned outings and game nights to try to distract Barnaby from what he knew was a very painful time of year because of the young man's past, and it seemed to be working up to that point.

After a fun-filled day, everyone headed to bed early at Kaede's insistance so that "Christmas would come that much sooner!" Kotetsu laid in his bed, not quite tired enough to sleep and more than hampered in his efforts to try by his brother's ludicrous snoring. He put a pillow over his face. He tore the pillow off his face. He threw the pillow at Muramasa. No success. Just as he was about to kick his brother until he was silent, he heard a clinking coming from the living room. Figuring he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, he slipped out the door of his bedroom, leaving his brother's wretched sinuses behind.

Barnaby thought he heard shuffling footsteps and looked up from his drink to see Kotetsu enter the room. He jumped to his feet and slurred apologetically, "Shit! Did I wake you?"

"Er, no. It's my stupid brother," Kotetsu explained. "Snoring like always." Kotetsu was hit by a wave of alcohol fumes when Barnaby sighed in relief and quickly deduced that he was plastered. "Bunny..." He approached the table and moved the drink out of Barnaby's reach. "Come on, now. We don't want a repeat of two weeks ago, do we?"

Barnaby's flushed cheeks turned redder still as he remembered more vividly the sensation of warm bodies pressed together, lips crashing, arms and legs and a quiet laugh. "I wouldn't know! I d-don't remember," he stammered defensively, searching Kotetsu's face for any sign at all that he knew the source of his embarrassment.

"Oh, Bunny," Kotetsu sighed, "you don't need to feel ashamed. You drank too much. You got sick. It happens to everyone. But..." He looked at the nearly empty bottle on the table. "Do you want to talk?"

"No." Barnaby averted his gaze.

Kotetsu grunted with annoyance and grabbed him by the arm. "Fine, then. I'll talk. We're going into your room so we don't wake up Kaede." Once in the room, Barnaby flopped down on the bed and Kotetsu sat at the end of it, wondering where to begin.

After a few moments of silence Kotetsu feared that Barnaby might have fallen asleep until he heard, "I don't appreciate being treated like a child."

He twisted around to look at him. "Please, don't be offended, Bunny. I don't mean to treat you as a child. I don't think of you as a child. I'm treating you as a friend... a friend who needs help from someone who understands."

Bunny sat up unsteadily, pushing away the hand Kotetsu offered to prevent him from falling. "I don't need your help, and I don't need your pity!" he glared. He expected Kotetsu to make one of his stupid jokes or try to offer some advice that he thought sounded wise. What he didn't expect was for Kotetsu to get angry, least of all to reach out and push him over.

"What's wrong with you anyway?" Kotetsu seethed. "What is it? Do you think I've never lost someone? That having Christmas with my daughter is easy knowing that I can't give her the only thing she wants, which is to have her mother back? I know what it's like to be plagued by memories and to try to drink them away. To blame yourself even though you know full well there's nothing you could have done. And I know, Bunny, I know so well trying to keep everything to yourself in the hopes that if you don't talk about it, it will go away. But it won't."

Barnaby swallowed hard and struggled to pull himself back into a seated position. "K-Kotetsu-"

"No." He held up a hand to silence Barnaby, bringing the other to cover his eyes whilst he composed himself. Taking a deep and shuddering breath, he tried to think of what to say. Barnaby thought he saw the glimmer of tears on his face, but it was dark and he was drunk, and before he could get angry or sad or even respond, Kotetsu was talking again in a soft voice. "You haven't allowed yourself to grieve. You spent your whole life looking for justice. You experienced things that would have destroyed-utterly destroyed-another man. You need to grieve, Bunny," he said without uncovering his eyes, "or the strain of it will kill you."

Barnaby suddenly felt very small and very afraid, and the loss of control sent him into a rage. "Maybe I'd be better off dead," he said harshly, feeling his nails digging into his palms as he clenched his fists so hard he thought his hands might break.

Kotetsu brought his hand away from his eyes and looked at him again. "You don't mean that."

"I do!" he cried out, slamming his fists on his knees. Something wrapped itself around him and he struggled to get free, shaking and weak, angry and confused, desperately sad. He heard comforting words being spoken into his ear but he could only make out the last few.

"...what would we do without you?"

Barnaby burst into noisy tears, clutching at the fabric of Kotetsu's nightshirt. "I'm so sorry," he wailed. "I didn't mean it." And he repeated himself over and over again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He apologised to his parents, to himself, to his Aunt Samantha, to the other Heroes, to Kotetsu-who had put up with him through the worst of it and seemed to have no intention of giving up on him even though he knew he was as hopeless as they came. The alcohol in his system served only to fuel his despair. He imagined patient, kind, loving Tomoe Kaburagi in front of him, he imagined she never said such terrible things to her husband as he had done. "I'm sorry. Please, please," he sobbed to her as well. "I am sorry."

Kotetsu held him close, rocked him, hushed him soothingly like he had done when Kaede was two and everything warranted a breakdown. He felt the young man's heart shattering and trying to repair itself with tears. He couldn't resist nuzzling the blond hair and the pale neck and didn't question the impulse as anything other than providing what small comfort he could. The sobs eventually quieted into whimpers, which in turn abated after a time. When Kotetsu was certain that Barnaby was sleeping soundly, he untangled himself from his grasp and tiptoed back to his own room, mercifully greeted by his brother's constant snoring.

Barnaby woke up before sunrise with no signs of a hangover other than an unquenchable thirst. His face was dry and his eyes itched and he remembered crying as he hadn't done in a long time. Sniffing slightly, he went to get himself a glass of water. On his way back to his room, water in hand, he saw Kaede stumble out of her room wrapped in a blanket.

"Daddy?" she asked in a thick voice, seeing her father's clothes. Then she noticed the hair. "Oh, Mister Barnaby. Is my dad awake?"

Barnaby shook his head. "I think it's just you and me awake. What's wrong?"

She approached him slowly and didn't stop until she was leaning on him for support. "I think I'm sick," she croaked. Barnaby immediately knelt, set his glass down on the floor, and pressed his hand against her forehead like his Aunt Samantha would do when he was little. She felt warm.

"You might have a fever," he agreed. "Let me make you some tea. Here-" he led her to the couch, "-sit down right here, turn on the telly. I'll be right back."

True to his word, Barnaby returned with a steaming mug of tea and honey. He placed the cup in her hands and warned, "It's very hot. Let it cool before you drink it." He sat next to her and put his arm over the back of the couch.

"Is your stomach alright?" Kaede nodded. "Good. Drink your tea. We'll watch some cartoons. Try to sleep if you can."

"Thank you, Mister Barnaby," she whispered, bringing the cup to her lips. Soon, she was fast asleep, nestled against Barnaby's chest-who, incidentally, nodded off shortly after Kaede.

A few hours later, Kotetsu awoke and found the door to his daughter's room open and nobody inside. He snuck into the living room, prepared to catch her in the act of trying to open her presents early like she had done in the years before, but he was surprised with the scene that greeted him. His daughter was utterly cocooned in a blanket, Barnaby's arm snug around her shoulders, both sleeping soundly. Kotetsu crept up and kissed Kaede on the forehead, noting that it felt as though she had come down with a fever. He resisted the urge to do the same to Barnaby before picking the empty mug off the table and putting it in the kitchen, stopping to collect a glass of water that was sitting in the middle of the floor. His heart twinged as he looked at the calendar and remembered it was Christmas day.

"Tomoe," he sighed. He returned to the couch and had to move Barnaby's arm in order to scoop up Kaede. Kotetsu mouthed an apology when he saw the green eyes blink open, and after he had deposited his little girl back in her bed and shut her bedroom door as softly as possible, he found Barnaby leaning against the wall. "Thank you for taking care of her."

Barnaby shrugged with a smile. "You don't need to thank me. I just want her to feel better."

They waited until the afternoon to open presents. Anju insisted that Kaede stay in her bed, so the family and Barnaby crowded into her room with all the boxes and envelopes. Barnaby handed out his gifts first, thanking the family once again for their hospitality.

Once he found out he was staying for Christmas, he called a garden store in Sternbild and had them deliver a rare plant he remembered his own mother having around the house. It took him awhile to order the correct one because he didn't know its name; he knew only that it would bloom white flowers for three days surrounding the full moon. The store dutifully had it sent to the florist in Oriental Town, where Barnaby was able to pick it up when Kotetsu took him shopping. Anju was delighted by the gift, thanking Barnaby for his thoughtfulness. He reveled in her warm smile.

For Muramasa he had selected a new wine aerator he'd read about in one of his favourite magazines. He figured that Muramasa could use it with new and old clients alike, or at his home. Muramasa shook him by the hand and slapped him on the back, which Barnaby took as thanks. He gave Kaede a new pair of ice skates, promising that he would see her skate in them one day soon.

Then Barnaby turned to Kotetsu, who was already holding out a relatively small box. "I want you to open this first," Kotetsu said.

"No, you open yours. I insist."

Kotetsu grabbed the tube and placed the box in Barnaby's hands. "How about we open them at the same time?"

Barnaby nodded and carefully took the bow off the box as Kotetsu ripped the paper off the tube in a reckless fashion. They both reached in and pulled out their gifts at the same time.

"Kotetsu..."

"Bunny!"

Anju and Muramasa exchanged a look.

Kotetsu was holding in his hands a limited edition Wild Tiger poster. He gave a low whistle, admiring the quality. He didn't know they had even been sent to the printers yet. Barnaby was clutching two action figures-Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks Jr. in their battle suits. He knew for a fact the action figure line hadn't been released yet, nor even announced to the public.

They shook hands awkwardly, and Kaede interrupted the tension and said, "I have something for you two!" She pointed to her drawer, which her grandmother opened. "There, on top," she directed. Anju pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Barnaby. Kotetsu looked over his shoulder.

"It's Wild Tiger and Barnaby in your suits!" Kaede exclaimed excitedly, pausing to cough. "And look, there I am, too! I have a different suit, though, because my power is different."

"This is wonderful, Kaede!" Barnaby said. "I can't wait to see you become a Hero, if that's what you want to do when you get older."

Kotetsu was strangely silent. He hugged Kaede and then handed her a tiny box. Her eyes grew wide, and she opened it to reveal a silver locket. She undid the clasp carefully. On the inside was a photograph of Tomoe, Kotetsu, and Kaede as a toddler, with an inscription reading, Love is Forever. "Daddy..." she whispered.

He smiled down at her, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "It belonged to your mother. We planned to give it to you this Christmas, and, well... it's from both of us." Kaede put it on, fumbling with the fastener for a moment, then lunged from her bed to wrap her father in a hug.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Kaede. And so does your mother."

The next day, Kaede was feeling much better, and she ran outside the front door when she heard her uncle's truck rumbling. She was surprised to see that not only Muramasa was packed and ready to return to his own place, but Barnaby was waiting to get into the truck with his overnight bag.

"Please, Mister Barnaby!" she called out to him, "Stay for New Year's!" She darted back inside to grab a coat before going outside again and standing by him.

Barnaby smiled awkwardly. "I can't keep wearing your father's clothes forever, you know. Don't worry, Kaede. I'll go back, get some more of my own clothes, and then I will come back for New Year's."

This didn't seem to comfort Kaede. "But then you'll leave?"

"I'll have to," he said.

"Why?" she pressed. "I thought you were retired!"

Barnaby paused. "Well, I... I don't live here. I need to go back to my own flat eventually."

Kaede's face fell. "Oh. But you'll visit again?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll try," he said. "But you have a show in Sternbild City soon, isn't that right?"

"Oh! Yes!" she chirped. "I will see you then!"

Muramasa tossed his things in the back of his truck and then brought Kaede inside with him to get another load. Kotetsu walked out and patted Kaede's head as he passed by her.

"Bunny, let me go with you," he whined once he'd gotten close enough.

"No, Kotetsu," Barnaby refused. "I'm simply going to get some of my clothes. I can dress myself. I promise."

Kotetsu's face fell just as Kaede's had moments before. "But Bunny..."

"What is it?"

"Make sure you come back, okay?" Kotetsu laughed nervously. "I've told you how upset Kaede can get. Don't need her destroying the house."

Barnaby smiled. "I will."

"Good, good... I'll see you soon." Kotetsu clapped a hand on his shoulder before heading back into the house, where he was quickly apprehended by his brother.

In hushed tones, Muramasa asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Kotetsu blinked. "What, that Bunny wanted to get his own clothes? I can drive him to the bus station if you do-"

"Not that! Why didn't you tell me that you and Barnaby were... I know you spent Christmas Eve in the guest room with him."

Kotetsu grit his teeth. "He needed comforting, you moron! Christmas Eve was when his parents were murdered. Anyway, you were snoring!"

"Look, I don't care either way. I didn't mean anything by it," Muramasa apologised. "I just thought that if there was anything it would be nice if you tol-"

"Just get him to the bus station in one piece, okay?" Kotetsu grumbled.

The ride to the bus station was quiet. Muramasa was a fairly silent man, which Barnaby never would have guessed from having known Kotetsu for so many years. He leaned his head against the window and let himself slip into ruminations.

"So Barnaby," Muramasa began, "how did my brother convince you to come for the holidays?"

Barnaby laughed into the window, his breath creating a circle of steam on the glass. "I was drunk," he admitted.

"I hope you've enjoyed your time here."

"Your family's hospitality is unparalleled, and it's more than I deserve. Thank you."

Both fell silent for a good chunk of time before Muramasa piped up again. "You're just like Kotetsu."

"Eh?"

"Keeping things to yourself. Be careful doing that," he remarked as they pulled into the station. He put the truck into park. "You can't hide everything. It's only a matter of time before it all comes spilling out."

Barnaby felt his chest seize up. "What do you mean?" They both got out of the truck, and Barnaby met Muramasa at the back of it to get his bag.

"You're good for my brother. I haven't seen him this happy since Tomoe was alive." He handed Barnaby the bag. "Hurry back." Without ceremony or much else by way of farewell, he climbed back into the driver's seat and drove off, leaving Barnaby standing in the bus station trying to decipher exactly what the older Kaburagi brother meant.

Barnaby arrived in Sternbild City with the hope of feeling relieved, but as he reached the door to his flat, he found himself discomfited. The city was, after all, what he knew. Shaking his head to clear it of the silly melancholy that had settled during the long bus ride, he unpacked the action figures Kotetsu had given him and placed them next to his toy robot from his parents.

"Time for a shower, I think," he murmured to nobody in particular and took off clothes that were Kotetsu's, not really noticing that they weren't his. Once he was clean and tired, he gathered the clothes he'd shed and on a whim, he buried his nose in the shirt. It smelled of Anju's cooking and country air, and even though it wasn't a scent he could swear he smelled warmth on the clothes. He wondered, nose pressed into the clothing that was not his, what his home smelled like when he was young and his parents were alive. Barnaby tore the shirt from his face, closed his eyes, and breathed in, trying to concentrate on the faces of his parents. All he could remember was the smell of smoke and fire and tears and flesh.

"No!" he choked. He brought the shirt back to his face and breathed in deeply to calm himself. This is what a home smells like, he told himself. He hurried to do his laundry and pack so he could be on the first bus back to Oriental Town in the morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _I hate doing A/Ns, but I do need to tell you that I've started a new medication that really affects my cognitive function. Updates might be a little bit late in the following couple of weeks whilst I get used to the new meds. I'm still shooting for at least once/week, but please forgive me if it ends up being once every 10 days or so. As always, reviews, critiques, criticisms, etc. are welcome and encouraging._


	6. Sick and Tired

Barnaby did not wake up the next morning; in fact, it wasn't until late in the afternoon that he was woken by his phone ringing for what must have been the millionth time as Kotetsu called him repeatedly to find out why he hadn't yet arrived in Oriental Town. The sound of the phone seemed desperately far away to Barnaby, who groped his way into consciousness and managed to answer groggily. "He… hello?"

"Bunny!" Kotetsu's voice cried on the other end. "Oh, thank goodness, I was worried something happened to you. Where are you?"

"Where?" Barnaby blinked hard, searching for the correct answer. "Why, I'm… I'm at home."

"Hey, you don't sound so good. Are you sick?"

He considered this question: his head was pounding, his throat felt swollen and raw, and his stomach seemed to be doing gymnastics for no apparent reason. "I think I'm sick," he whimpered. "Kotetsu, I-I'm going to-" Barnaby dropped the phone and leapt for the bathroom, vomiting so loudly that Kotetsu could hear him through the line.

"Bunny? Bunny! Are you okay?" The phone's speakers rattled with Kotetsu's voice.

Barnaby crawled back to the bed to retrieve his phone. "I'm here," he panted, still sitting on the floor and leaning against the mattress. "I don't think I can come back."

Kotetsu sounded relieved to hear his voice again. "No, no, of course not. You stay there. It sounds like you have the same thing Kaede had, only worse."

"I'm sorry I'm breaking my word."

"Don't be. You need to rest. Get back in bed, Bunny. I'll send Antonio to check on you later."

Barnaby squinted at his phone. They hadn't been on a video call, so there was no way Kotetsu should have known he wasn't in his bed. "How did you know?" he asked.

Kotetsu cleared his throat. "Your, ah… your bed squeaks. Now get in bed and bundle up."

"Please, don't send Antonio," Barnaby groaned as he pulled himself into his bed.

"I hardly think you're in any position to argue. Don't make me come over there myself," Kotetsu chided. He hung up, leaving Barnaby to protest on his own.

Sometime in the evening, the doorbell rang. Barnaby grabbed his pillow and stuffed it on top of his face, hoping his visitor would leave him to his misery. It rang again, and he knew he had no choice but to go answer it. Antonio fairly burst through the door with a thermos and a bag from a chemist. "Hello, Antonio," Barnaby mumbled.

"Back to bed with you!" Antonio greeted him, shooing him into his bedroom. "You look terrible."

"How kind." Barnaby collapsed face-first on his sheets and let out a pitiful moan.

Antonio ignored the comment and set to work on laying out various medications on the nightstand. "This is for your stomach-Kotetsu said you were pretty sick this morning. Oh, and this will help with the fever and headache. This is for congestion because I wasn't sure exactly what you would need," he explained. "And this is some hot soup because I imagine you haven't eaten much at all."

Barnaby cracked an eye open to consider the mountain of a man who was crouched over his bed, coddling him like a child. No wonder he was Kotetsu's best friend, with his ready smile and apparent concern for others. He buried his face in the pillow once more with a grunt, trying to ignore the voice in the back of his head suggesting that it should have been Antonio over at the Kaburagi residence for Christmas, and perhaps it should have been Antonio to be Kotetsu's partner when they were Heroes.

"Throwing a fit won't make you feel better any faster," Antonio said, but Barnaby imagined those words could have come straight from Kotetsu's mouth. "Sit up." Barnaby grudgingly obeyed, noticing how every muscle and joint in his body deeply ached. "Take these." Barnaby accepted the handful of pills and downed them with relative ease, considering how swollen his throat felt. "Drink this." He took the mug of soup from Antonio and sipped carefully at its contents. "Now, how do you feel?" Antonio pulled up a small chair for himself and plopped down in it, still smiling kindly.

"Terrible," Barnaby admitted. "Thank you. You didn't have to do this."

Antonio let out a hearty laugh. "Then you mustn't have gotten to know Kotetsu very well despite having been partners. It's hard to say no to him."

"The producers didn't have a difficult time with it," Barnaby joked.

"Oh, well, I meant as far as personal matters are concerned. But, ah-" Antonio's eyes landed on Kotetsu's tie around one of the bedposts and Kotetsu's shirt and trousers lying in a heap on the floor by the bed. "-I assume you knew that already."

Barnaby didn't catch his meaning because the voice in his head was now suggesting something else entirely about Antonio and Kotetsu. "I… what?" he coughed, not seeing what Antonio was looking at.

Antonio raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. It's just that it seems you recently had Kotetsu as a guest."

Barnaby felt his face grow hot. He couldn't see how Antonio had known about that night a few weeks prior when Kotetsu had brought him home, but even that incident didn't seem to match with what Antonio was implying. "H-how do you mean?" he sputtered, staring hard into the mug of soup.

"Far be it from me to make assumptions, but I can't help but notice Kotetsu's clothes on your floor," Antonio shrugged.

"What?"

"And his tie on your bedpost."

"B-but…" Barnaby struggled to find words even though the explanation was simple. His hands shook, the soup sloshing dangerously close to the edge of the cup. He felt his brain promptly cease to function, and he stared helplessly at the pile of clothes on the floor.

Antonio beat him to the punch. "It's alright," he promised, "I'm not going to tell anyone. It's not my business what anybody does behind closed doors, anyway. But I have to admit, I did wonder why Kotetsu sounded so worried. It makes more sense now."

"He sounded worried?"

Antonio put his hands on his knees and pushed himself to his feet. "Of course he did. You know how he is." He set a small collection of pills on the corner of the nightstand. "I need to head out now, but you take these in four hours. Finish your soup."

"Antonio, thank you," Barnaby sighed.

"That's what friends are for." He walked out of the room, and Barnaby heard the beep of a communicator just before Antonio left the flat. "Hello, Agnes," Antonio cooed, closing the door behind him. Barnaby stared after him.

Barnaby's illness lasted far longer that Kaede's had, and come New Year's Eve he was feeling slightly more human but altogether unable to travel. Kotetsu reported that his daughter was disappointed, but she understood. There was a slight hint of regret in his voice as they spoke on the phone, and Barnaby imagined it was because he had hidden his job as Wild Tiger from Kaede for so long, so she never understood when he had to cancel his own plans to visit. She walked into the room as they were speaking, and she practically groveled before the screen.

"I'm so sorry for getting you sick, Mister Barnaby!" She looked thoroughly distressed.

He held back a cough. "Please don't feel bad. It's not as though you did it intentionally. Some things can't be helped."

"I wish you were better so you could celebrate with us," she told him. "Please get better soon!"

Barnaby smiled. "I'll do my best. Next week you'll be skating in the arena here, won't you?"

Kaede nearly shoved her father out of the screen in her excitement. "Oh, yes! You remembered! Will you still be coming?" When Barnaby nodded, she shrieked and ran out of the room, calling for her grandmother.

Kotetsu sat up straight, laughing. "Now you've gone and excited her!" Barnaby fell into coughing fit. "Geez, Bunny, you don't sound to good at all. Should I have Antonio visi-"

"No!" Barnaby cried, and Kotetsu's eyebrows shot up.

"I didn't know you didn't like him," he muttered.

"I-it's not that," Barnaby hastily explained. "I just don't want to get any of the Heroes sick. You know. I am doing so much better than I was even earlier this week."

Kotetsu squinted at him. "If you say so. Hey, Bunny, Antonio said something a bit weird to me. Did he say anything to you?" Barnaby shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. "Ah, well, never mind. It must be his imagination running wild again. Or mine. I could have sworn he mentioned something about Agnes."

"Oh, about Agnes? I don't know about that," Barnaby lied, wondering why Antonio hadn't mentioned anything else to his best friend.

Kotetsu laughed. "Just ignore me, I'm sure it's nothing. You focus on getting well. I've been worried about you."

"I know," Barnaby said softly and looked away from the screen.

"You're probably tired, and I'm keeping you from getting rest! I'm sorry, Bunny. I'll talk to you later!"

"Sure, thank you. Goodbye."

Barnaby hung up, more than a little mystified. Antonio must have been teasing him, but on the other hand he had seemed so sincere. He slid back into bed and hunkered under the covers, seized by a violent bout of chills. There was one problem with being sick, and that it was that he was left in a depressive mood, vulnerable to the uninterrupted siege of his own thoughts and assumptions. The most he could hope for by way of respite was sleep, which seemed to elude him more and more every day.

Barnaby shivered as unwelcome memories cascaded around him to keep him a dark sort of company in the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _I am frustrated that I have to write so many of these ANs, but I did want to apologise to my readers for the delay and offer an explanation. I have a chronic illness, and it suddenly decided to get worse, which impacts my ability to think and type. I am sorry for not keeping to my once-a-week updating schedule. I hope to get back to that frequency soon._

_Thank you for your understanding! And of course, thank you for the kind reviews and con-crit thus far!_


	7. Gone Out

Simply put, Kotetsu was worried. He had come to understand and even be able to predict most of Barnaby's moods, and he knew that the longer Barnaby was left to his own devices, the more difficult it would be to shake him from a sort of soul-crushing misery that seemed to seep into the corners of his mind when he wasn't occupied. And seeing as he hadn't heard even two words from his friend since their last phone call-which Kotetsu had initiated-wishing one another a happy New Year, he could only assume that Barnaby had fallen deep into the incorrigible pit of ennui, and it would take quite a lot of effort to pull him back out.

Kotetsu tossed Kaede's skating bag into the overhead luggage compartment on the train before settling in the seat beside her. She was busy texting her friends, so he let his mind wander as other passengers boarded the car.

'Wander' wasn't exactly an accurate term, at least not in this case. Kotetsu's mind was very stubbornly stuck on one subject: Barnaby. He had seemed particularly listless in their last few conversations-increasingly so, now that he thought about it. Antonio had gone over once more despite Kotetsu insisting it wasn't necessary, but nobody had answered the door.

"Daddy?" Kaede interrupted his thoughts.

"Hmm, yes, Kaede?" He looked over at her.

"Is Mister Barnaby still going to come see me skate?" she asked earnestly.

Kotetsu frowned. "I hope so. I haven't heard from him, though. He might still be too sick." He knew that by now Barnaby wasn't ill enough to be bound at home, but he didn't want Kaede to be disappointed in the case that Barnaby didn't show up. She had had enough of that from him over the years, she didn't need to be given reason to think that someone else would abandon her, too.

Kaede looked as though she might cry. "I made him that sick?" she whispered. "Daddy, is he going to die?"

He panicked. He hadn't thought she would interpret it that way, and he certainly hadn't meant to remind Kaede of her mother. "No, no, Kaede," he reassured her. "No, of course he's not going to die. You're just young, so you get better faster than older people do. Don't worry. Bunny is fine. I just don't want you to be disappointed if he can't come to your show. Do you understand?"

She nodded, blinking away tears and refocusing on texting her friends. Kotetsu slung an arm around her and was pleased when she didn't pull away. At least on a train, out of the sight of any of her peers, he was still allowed to hold his little girl.

The train was delayed in arriving to Sternbild City, and Antonio pulled his car around to pick up the two of them, saying something about how they would have to head straight to the arena instead of relaxing beforehand. Kotetsu looked over Kaede's head and mouthed a question at his friend; Antonio shook his head in response. Both frowned. Kaede was too busy telling Antonio everything to expect in the show to notice the silent exchange. When they arrived at the arena, Kaede gave her father and Antonio a hug before racing around the back to prepare.

Once she was out of earshot, Kotetsu leaned over to speak quietly with his friend. "Where is Bunny?"

"I don't know. I called him and didn't get an answer, so I stopped by his flat. I didn't hear any signs of movement at all. I nearly broke down the door, but..."

"Last I heard from him, he was feeling almost completely better. Where could he have gone?" Kotetsu worried.

Antonio sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We'll find him. He's done this sort of thing before and was just fine," he reminded Kotetsu.

"I know, but the last time this happened, it was…" Kotetsu swallowed hard. The last time Barnaby disappeared without warning, it had been because of Maverick. They had all nearly died at the hands of that madman. "I can't l-"

"Lose him?" Antonio suggested.

Kotetsu gave him a confused look. "I was going to say, 'Let him down,' but okay. Let's just find our seats, shall we?"

Antonio shrugged. "All right. We'll find him after Kaede's done here, though there's still time for him to show up."

"You're right. Say, Antonio, what's this business about you and Agnes?"

Antonio looked away quickly, but not before Kotetsu saw a sly grin spread across his face. The lights dimmed to signal the beginning of the show, and Kotetsu jabbed Antonio in the ribs with his elbow, hissing, "You have some explaining to do when this is over!"

When Kaede's show was finished, she met them around the back of the arena, looking around expectantly for Barnaby. She seemed more worried than disappointed and ignored her father enthusing, "Hey, Kaede! Wow, that was really great!"

"He's still sick?" she asked Antonio, her cheeks still bright red from the performance.

He nodded. "It would seem that way. Your dad and I were just talking about going to check up on him."

"Yes," Kotetsu agreed, "we want to swing by his flat, but we can't bring you with us… we can't risk you getting sick again, especially since you've got to go to school on Monday."

"But it's my fault!" she exclaimed. "I should be the one who's still sick, not Mister Barnaby!"

Antonio laughed loudly, which made Kaede jump in surprise. "What, did you absorb the power of a NEXT who can control illnesses? Kaede, it's not your fault. People fall ill sometimes. Now, come on and get in my car; we've arranged a surprise for you tonight with a friend."

Kaede looked up at Kotetsu, who nodded at her. "Okay, Uncle Antonio," she said, tossing her skating bag at her father to carry. He rolled his eyes and followed.

After a few twists and turns through the city, they arrived at a beautiful high-rise. Just outside the entrance stood Keith Goodman in his civilian clothes. "Hello! Hello, my friends! Greetings!" he called dramatically, posing slightly.

Kaede gasped and blushed. "Mister Sk- Mister Keith!" she caught herself before she revealed his identity, though there wasn't anybody around to hear it even if she had. Antonio fought back a grin as he elbowed Kotetsu and raised his eyebrows meaningfully. Kotetsu shoved him back, not wanting to deal with yet another of his daughter's obsessive crushes.

Keith flashed her a winning smile. "Kaede, how lovely to see you again. Your father has entrusted me with entertaining you this evening. I'm sure we will find plenty of activities to fill our time."

Kaede clasped her hands. "Could you take me on a tour of all the places where you caught criminals?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course I can!" Keith turned to the other two men and said, "Give Barnaby my regards." He had been filled in on the entire situation over the phone, so he said nothing more, not wanting to risk making Kaede suspicious.

"Sure thing," Kotetsu said. He pulled Kaede's bag out of the car and held it out. "She's got all her overnight things in here… just in case we don't get back until later. Are you sure this is alright?"

Keith took the bag readily, offering Kotetsu a screwdriver in return. "I'm always happy to help out a friend and fellow Hero, especially when it means spending time with Kaede. Why, she saved all our lives. We're greatly indebted to you, Kaede," he told her. She blushed once again.

"Thank you, Keith," Antonio said as they got back into the car. "We'll let you know how Barnaby is doing."

Keith and Kaede waved them off, and as soon as they were out of sight, Kotetsu heaved a deep sigh and put his head in his hands. Antonio patted him on the back and in an attempt to distract him, joked, "I think she's given up her crush on Barnaby and moved on to Keith, at least."

Kotetsu ignored him and pulled out his mobile, using the speed dial option and reaching Barnaby's voicemail for the umpteenth time. "Bunny, hey, it's me," he mumbled. "Just wanted to let you know Antonio and I are coming over to your flat. We're coming in whether you answer the door or not, so… just be alright, okay?" He hung up and they rode in silence to Barnaby's building.

Upon reaching the correct door, Kotetsu rang the bell. Antonio was less patient, and he banged on the door and tried the handle, twisting it so hard that it threatened to snap. Kotetsu pulled him back. "Stop, Antonio, don't break it! Keith gave me a screwdriver. We'll just take the door apart." He spoke calmly but was unable to hide the strain in his voice.

Antonio stepped away from the door with a great frown. "Yes, alright," he agreed. "Go on, then." He was ready to smash the door at that point, but he knew Kotetsu wouldn't want to leave his partner's home a mess. Kotetsu knelt down and began working the screws out of the handle when Antonio suddenly felt a chuckle bubbling up from inside his chest.

"What's so funny?" Kotetsu sounded irritated.

Antonio quelled his laughter. "I'm sorry, I was just remembering when we stol-… oh, you know. You haven't lost your touch, that's all!"

Kotetsu looked back and rewarded him with a smirk. "How can you glorify our deviant past?" he joked, pulling out the last screw and taking apart the handle. With his tongue peeking out the side of his mouth as a mark of his concentration, he pushed his hand through the small opening and felt with his long fingers for the inner lock to undo it. Fortunately, he was more than familiar with this door, and he opened it with little fuss.

Antonio reached over him and pushed the door open impatiently, and Kotetsu scrambled into the room, still on all fours. The sight that met him was shocking to say the least. He let out a shuddering breath. "B-Bunny?" The flat showed no signs of recent human activity other than scores of empty wine, beer, and sake bottles littered about the floor, many broken or shattered. Antonio raced to the bedroom and then the toilet but found nobody. Kotetsu slowly made his way to the kitchen; no Barnaby.

"Kotetsu?" Antonio called from the bedroom. He ran over, shaking slightly. Antonio pointed to the bed, where laid Kotetsu's sloppily-folded clothes in what was surely supposed to be a neat stack.

"Ah-" he tried to say, but his mouth was dry. He coughed. "Antonio, I need you to take Kaede home for me. Can you do that? Ask Agnes for the day off?"

Antonio put a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. "Of course, Kotetsu. But Barnaby… Can I-?"

"No." Kotetsu shook his head. "I have to find him. Because I-I know," he tried to explain, but he couldn't think straight and had no idea how to finish what he was saying. Antonio squeezed his shoulder before removing his hand.

"I understand," he said gently. "I know that you and Barnaby are… Ahem, let me call Agnes." He changed the subject quickly at Kotetsu's sullen glare and whipped out his mobile, doing an about-face and heading for the exit.

"Don't let Kaede forget to use the special mouthwash the dentist gave her," Kotetsu called to the retreating form before slumping onto the bed. "Think, dammit," he growled at his mind as he buried his face in the pillow. "Where would Bunny go if he doesn't plan on coming back?"

Then it hit him.


	8. Saved

Kotesu leapt out of the bed and dashed out of the flat. "He's out of alcohol, and he's gone to get more," Kotetsu hissed to himself. "Probably even wants people to recognise him, congratulate him. Go out with a bang. Can't even stay out of the spotlight when he..." His extreme anxiety was manifesting itself as anger. Anger at Barnaby for being so foolish. Anger at himself for not being there for him. Anger at Antonio and his mother and his brother and all the countless others who kept implying that he and his partner were _"partners"_ when he had a daughter and a wife at home. Anger at his wife for not being home. Anger at himself for not being home, either, and anger at Barnaby for not being home at _his_ home instead of that fancy but ultimately soulless and depressing flat in the city.

Kotetsu hailed a taxi and promised to pay the driver extra to speed to the Hero-themed bar, shoving an imprecise wad of cash through the window that more than covered the fare once they arrived. He hustled into the bar, scanning it for any sign of his p-

"You can't ask me to leave!" came a nearly incoherent voice. "I am… I am Barba-Barnaby Brooks Junior! Perfectly well-behaved Hero."

Kotetsu ran around the corner of the bar to find two waiters trying desperately to ask Barnaby to leave because he was clearly intoxicated. He gently put a hand on his arm and said, "Bunny, come on, let's go."

Barnaby turned to look at him and his face darkened. "Go 'way," he slurred, somehow still managing to sound slightly eloquent despite his inebriation. The thick smell of vomit and beer rolled off him like waves. "Another shot!" he ordered uselessly before demanding, "Kotetsu, leave."

"Yes, but you have to come with me," Kotetsu said firmly, sliding his hand down to Barnaby's wrist and tightening his grip. He shot the waiters a look that clearly said he could handle the situation, and they quickly slunk away to serve other tables.

"No," was the whimpered reply. "I don't like you don't like me." Barnaby leaned sideways on the bar stool to rest his head on Kotetsu's arm. "I don't want to go. I like to not remember. I want to..."

Kotetsu sighed and slung the captive arm over his neck, then dipped down to pick up Barnaby, who hardly protested. He thought about Antonio again, about how many months his best friend had to collect him from bars and pubs and occasionally alleyways, and his face burned hot with embarrassment. "Come on, Little Bunny. Let's get you to your bed," he muttered. "Trying to drink yourself to death. _Hell_, Bunny."

Barnaby weakly whispered, "No…" but buried his face in Kotetsu's chest anyway. His intoxicated mind flickered with a mix of real memories and imagined scenarios: a flash of lips, a glimmer of sheets, a spark of whispers and entangled limbs. "No." he repeated into Kotetsu's shirt; _he_ was supposed to be the logical one, but this…

Barnaby's train of thought was interrupted by Kotetsu warning him about a patch of ice as he tucked him into the taxi as though he were a child. "Kaede!" he sputtered, though he couldn't say for sure why he was so upset.

Kotetsu ducked into the seat next to him and gave directions to the driver. "She's going home with Antonio. She's not disappointed, she just wants you to get better. And so do I," he said solemnly.

"I'm fine!" Barnaby tried his hardest to sit up straight and push his glasses up his nose, but he ended up with his neck craned backwards and his hand rightfully smushed against his cheek.

Kotetsu looked over at him with an odd sort of expression. Something churned inside his chest. "You really are a little bunny, aren't you?" he mused, reaching over with a hand to fix Barnaby's hair.

Barnaby tried to shake his head and pull away, but instead he ended up leaning closer. "N-no. What?" The words came out more or less as tiny moans.

Kotetsu withdrew his hand almost reluctantly after a few minutes and sniffed, looking out the window. "They get depressed when they're left alone."

"I, well, maybe." But then he leaned forward and cried, "Stop!" before opening the door and tumbling out of the cab to vomit on the street, scraping his palms on the pavement in his haste. Kotetsu helped him back in, taking his glasses and rubbing the tears off of them with his shirt. Barnaby put them on gratefully.

"Go."

When they arrived at Barnaby's building, he was mostly able to walk on his own, having voided his stomach of the rest of its contents and also having sobered up ever so slightly. His arm was heavy around Kotetsu's shoulder as they stumbled together into the lift. Kotetsu heaved a sigh and looked over at Barnaby, whose eyes were nearly shut.

"'m sorry," he squeaked.

Kotetsu chuckled half-heartedly. "Oh, Bunny. I thought I was supposed to be the alcoholic mess," he jested, smiling even though a sinking feeling in his stomach told him it was closer to the truth than he wanted to admit.

Barnaby responded by leaning and twisting slightly, pressing his nose into the crook of Kotetsu's neck. He mumbled something that Kotetsu couldn't understand entirely, though it sounded a bit like, "I don't know what to do."

"That's easy. You're going to drink some water, brush your teeth, go to sleep, and when you wake up and are done being sick, you'll take the train with me back to Oriental Town," Kotetsu said. "And that's final."

The lift arrived at the top floor. Barnaby laughed into Kotetsu's neck. His other arm reached up to join the first that was clinging to Kotetsu, and he held fast as though he might fall if he let go.

"B-Bunny! This is your floor," Kotetsu stuttered, having withdrawn his hand from Barnaby's side. He held both his hands up in the air, not sure how to react to his drunk partner who seemed to be trying to melt into him. He couldn't even shuffle forward out of the lift because Barnaby was leaning so heavily into the strangely intimate embrace that Kotetsu was mostly pinned against the wall. He watched the doors begin to close. "Bunny!"

Barnaby said nothing, and it became apparent he wasn't going to release his hold any time soon. Kotetsu awkwardly wrapped his arms around the younger man, patting him on the back, cajoling, "Come on, you're okay. Come on. You can let go." Barnaby wouldn't budge. It was with an exasperated sigh that Kotetsu finally leaned his back into the lift wall and circled his arms around Barnaby's waist. He figured he may as well be comfortable if he had to be trapped like this. He tilted his head to rest it on Barnaby's. "Oh, Bunny," he murmured for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Bunny, Bunny, Bunny. Look what you do to me." He didn't even know what that was supposed to mean, but he said it all the same.

"Mmm," was all Barnaby could manage in return. He nestled closer still.


	9. All Aboard

Barnaby woke up with a crushing sort of disappointment that he was still alive, which was completely eclipsed in an instant by the sensation of what was probably his brain exploding. He let out a loud and miserable groan. Something moved beside him, and he was suddenly struck with horror: had he gotten so drunk as to spend the night with a stranger? It certainly wasn't his goal to ever leave the bar, and now he was with a stranger-in his own bed, no less-it was impossible! Why, he'd never even really... He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that maybe the person would leave and he could forget this ever happened.

"Morning, Bunny," grunted a voice in his ear.

He bolted up until he was sitting, twisted sideways to look at the other occupant of his bed. "Kotetsu!" he cried. "What are you, ah, how did you-did I…?"

Kotetsu was laughing. He put his arms behind his back and propped himself up on his elbows. "Try to drink yourself to death? You did. I managed to find you before you succeeded. Why do you look so scared?" He wore an easy smile borne of pure relief. "I don't bite, you know. Well, not much, anyway." Kotetsu laughed at his own joke, and his eyes glimmered.

Barnaby blinked forcefully and took a deep breath, trying to make sense of the very obscure puzzle that was his memory of the previous night. "I don't… what are you doing here?" he exhaled.

"Making sure you come back with me, of course. We're partners. I don't want to do without you, and it has become apparent that you simply can't do without me." Kotetsu's voice turned serious even though a grin was still plastered on his face. The bastard probably thought he had 'sounded cool,' judging by his attitude.

Barnaby gulped. Part of it was because of the embarrassment that Kotetsu had found him in a state of absolute ruin yet again (and who knew what Barnaby might have done with that much alcohol coursing through his system?), but it was slowly coming to his attention that another, possibly equally as great part of his sudden paralysis was that Kotetsu was beaming at him from his own bed, wearing nothing but pants, explaining in his silly way that he wanted to keep him around... forever.

Barnaby barely caught himself from licking his lips and instead struggled out of the sheets quickly. "-going to be sick," he offered as an explanation as he dashed to the toilet and shut the door, locking it. He turned on the tap and pushed his face into the stream of cold water as best he could.

A voice called out from the other room. "Bunny? Are you okay?"

"I wish I knew," he murmured as he pulled his pounding head from the sink. Something red caught his attention in the mirror. He gaped at his reflection, which was sporting a prominent hickey right on his collarbone. His cheeks flushed red. Kotetsu must have seen it, too; he'd been staring at him just seconds before. Barnaby sat down hard on the edge of the bathtub and put his face in his hands, hissing furiously to himself. "Either Kotetsu thinks that I'm a… o-or he was the one who… who… Damn it! Why can't I remember?" Barnaby hit his fists against his forehead in vain. It was no use; he simply couldn't remember anything beyond leaving his flat to go to a bar.

Completely unaware of Barnaby's predicament, Kotetsu had gotten up and started to clean the flat. There wasn't much to do other than bag up the bottles and sweep up broken pieces of glasses, so he was done fairly quickly. He dressed himself, lingering in the bedroom a little, wondering if Barnaby was going to keep himself locked up in the loo indefinitely. "Maybe I'll ring Antonio," he said to himself, "let him know that Bunny is alright." He poked around a bit before he found where he'd put his phone before going to sleep and settled into the chaise-longue to make the call.

When Barnaby heard Kotetsu's voice conversing with someone in his living room, he decided it was time to leave his tiled sanctuary and slipped back into his bedroom undetected. He located a clean shirt and got dressed, ensuring that the heinous blemish was completely covered before slumping on his bed and, for a lack of a better word, eavesdropping on Kotetsu's conversation.

"…has had a rough time. I keep trying to invite him to stay, but-" Kotetsu was saying. "No! I didn't- Antonio, where do you get these ideas? I-I mean, maybe I… stop that! No, I think he just feels like he's intruding, or I'm not really sure what, to be honest."

Kotetsu fell silent, presumably listening to Antonio's response.

"Yes, of course! But try telling him that. He doesn't believe me. Look, I'm going to bring him back to Oriental Town with me today. We'll take the train, so we'll probably be there by about noon. He won't listen to me, so could you try to talk to him?" Kotetsu pleaded. "Antonio, you're the best. Just tell him… That's right. Yes, okay. Thank you. Oh! And tell Kaede that Bunny's feeling better and is coming to visit. Also, he feels terrible that he had to miss her show. Hah! No, that part is definitely true."

Barnaby felt his heart twist uncomfortably. He had forgotten about Kaede's show, and now Kotetsu was defending him, trying to preserve his daughter's idea of him. Kotetsu walked into the room just as Barnaby flopped with his face down on the pillow. "How's your head?" he asked.

"I'm dying, Kotetsu," Barnaby said without moving.

Kotetsu reached over and pulled him up almost roughly by the shoulder. "Too bad!" he chirped. "It's time for you to get your shoes on and get ready to go."

He feigned ignorance. "To go?"

"To Oriental Town. We need to leave for the train station soon. The taxi is arriving in ten minutes. If I were you, I'd use my Hundred Power to pack quickly. I won't be letting you leave for a flimsy excuse like 'I need my own clothes, I can't wear old man clothes, I look like an old man!'" Kotetsu mocked him, putting his fingers up like rabbit ears on either side of his head as he spoke like he did every time he was impersonating Barnaby, and then laughing at his own antics.

"Train? Why not take the bus?" Barnaby got up and went to his wardrobe to begin selecting clothes.

"Too slow. Plus, with a train we can get a private compartment. It's a real treat!"

Barnaby felt panic rising in his gut. Staying at Kotetsu's house made him feel out of place enough as it was-though it was more like he felt _so_ at home there that it made him uncomfortable for a reason he couldn't name. But sitting alone with Kotetseu in a small train compartment would be too much, he was sure of that. Too much of what, exactly, he didn't know, and Barnaby hated not being able to define things clearly. He glanced back at Kotetsu, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning on his hands behind him, watching him expectantly. Barnaby definitely hated when he couldn't tell how he felt, and ever since he learned about Maverick manipulating his memories, all of his assumptions had been thrown into question. If he had been able forget Kotetsu (and not to mention idolise Maverick) so easily, well, that certainly didn't make him very confident in his perception of much of anything anymore.

They soon crawled into a taxi and arrived at the train station without spectacle, easily locating their car and the four-seated compartment. It was smaller than Barnaby expected, but not uncomfortably so, and both sat by the window: Kotetsu facing forward, and Barnaby facing backward. The train doors closed, the whistle blew, and the locomotive pulled out of the station, gaining speed once it got out of the city and into the countryside. Exhausted, Barnaby managed to fall asleep fairly quickly, but he awoke frequently, for mere seconds each time. He couldn't tell if he actually opened his eyes and saw Kotetsu watching him intently or if it was still a part of his dreams; however, he didn't sleep for too long before sitting up with a groan.

"Kotetsu?"

"Hmm?" Kotetsu was looking out the window.

"Could we switch places? I'm getting motion sickness."

Kotetsu smirked at him. "That's not motion sickness. It's being hungover. Here, come sit by me and have some water." He motioned to the plastic glass sitting in the cup holder between the seats. Barnaby moved next to him gratefully, taking the water and drinking most of it at once, not bothering to ask when or how Kotetsu had obtained it.

"Thank you, Kotetsu. And thank you for last night." He flushed slightly, looking down.

"Oh, no, Bunny. I'm the one who should be thanking you for last night!" Kotetsu said with a steady smile.

Barnaby's eyes widened, and he felt his face flame bright red, his eyes snapping up to meet Kotetsu's. "W-what? That didn't- you're lying, Kotetsu! That's not funny!" He was clutching the cup so tightly it was apt to break at any moment.

Kotetsu burst into laughter, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," he gasped out before visibly calming down. "I was joking! I didn't think you'd take me seriously. Hell, Bunny, I didn't even know you were into men."

Barnaby's embarrassment turned into anger. He threw the empty cup on the ground, where it made a very non-threatening clicking noise as it hit. "So I'm a joke to you?"

"What?" Kotetsu's smile faltered. "No, I-"

"All this time, and you just made assumptions about me? You never even asked. I'm not, as you so crudely put it, 'into men.' Not that it's any of your business!" Barnaby crossed his arms and turned his entire torso away from Kotetsu with a deep scowl.

Kotetsu frowned. "I'm sorry, Bunny. I really didn't mean to offend you, I promise. I was just trying to, you know…" he faded out, looking down at his hands in his lap. "Looks like I put my foot in my mouth again. Is that why you wanted to leave Oriental Town in the first place? Because of me?" He looked back at Barnaby sheepishly.

Barnaby moved so he was facing forward in a more comfortable position, avoiding eye contact. "No, I told you it was because I didn't have any more clothes," he grumped.

"But you didn't come back." Kotetsu's voice was quiet. A long moment later, he continued, "Because of me."

"No!" cried Barnaby impatiently, turning wholly in his seat to face Kotetsu. "It wasn't because of you! It was because… because of…" He cut himself off with a lunge towards Kotetsu, and before either of them really knew what was happening, Barnaby was sprawled like a coil undone, laying across his seat, an armrest, and half of Kotetsu, pulling him closer by his tie and pressing their lips together, his other hand braced against the window that Kotetsu was leaning against.

He pulled away almost as quickly as he'd leapt, shrinking back into his seat like a frightened animal. Kotetsu stared haplessly. "Bunny…" he breathed.

Barnaby fought the urge to apologize. "So there. That. That is why," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. He watched Kotetsu with furrowed brow, waiting for admonishment.

"But," Kotetsu finally spluttered, "you said you don't like men."

"I don't."

"But-"

Barnaby's explanation sounded almost robotic. "I haven't really been attracted to anyone. Ever. Just a crush one time, I guess, if you can call it that. I was a student, and I never… nothing happened. Therefore, it would not be fair to say that I were 'into' either men or women." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Just you, it would seem."

Kotetsu massaged the bridge of his nose for a few moments to collect his thoughts. "Well, thank god," he said when he finally lifted his head.

Barnaby's eyebrows flew up. "Excuse me?"

"Stop acting like I'm going to be mad," Kotetsu frowned at him. "I honestly thought you just got lonely when you drank. This makes much more sense now."

It was Barnaby's turn to stare. "Makes sense? It doesn't make sense to me, how could it possibly make sense to you?"

Kotetsu let out a low chuckle. "Probably because you can't remember how you act when you're drunk enough to pass out. Of course, nothing happened. I made sure of it. That wouldn't be right, not when you were drunk like that. But really, that's why you left? Why didn't you tell me what was bothering you?"

Barnaby sighed and hung his head. "Because I didn't know. I only ever felt this way before once, and it wasn't this- it wasn't _this much_. And anyway, you don't feel the same, and I didn't want to ruin our friendship," he replied lamely. "You're not simply my only friend, Kotetsu. You're the only one I have left at all. I can't lose that."

Kotetsu sighed and moved the armrest up so there was nothing between them. "You know, for a genius, prodigy, world-famous Hero, you can be pretty stupid sometimes."

"I know," Barnaby whimpered. "I'm so sorr-"

Kotetsu leaned forward, lifted his chin, and kissed him softly, cautiously. "Just be careful with this Old Man," he murmured against Barnaby's lips.

Barnaby pulled him closer with every intention of never letting him go.


End file.
